A nightmare jolts Debs awake. She leaves the kids tucked up in their beds and goes downstairs. There’s a man in her kitchen, holding a knife. But it’s not an intruder. This is her husband Marc, the father of her children.
Once, their differences were what drew them together. Him, the ex-army officer from a good family. Her, the fitness instructor who grew up over a pub. But now they grate to the point of drawing blood. Marc screams in his sleep. And Debs hardly knows the person she’s become, or why she lets him hurt her.
Neither of them is completely innocent. Neither is totally guilty. Marc is taller, stronger, and more vicious, haunted by a war he can’t forget. But he has no idea what Debs is capable of when her children’s lives are at stake…
This gripping read about a relationship built on passion, poisoned by secrets and violence will keep you turning the pages all night.
Book Info: Print length: 348 pages. Publisher: Viper. Publication Date: 24 Feb 2022
Tina Baker, the daughter of a window cleaner and fairground traveller, worked as a journalist and broadcaster for thirty years and is probably best known as a television critic for the BBC and GMTV. After so many hours watching soaps gave her a widescreen bum, she got off it and won Celebrity Fit Club. She now avoids writing-induced DVT by working as a Fitness Instructor.
Call Me Mummy is Tina’s first novel, inspired by her own unsuccessful attempts to become a mother. Despite the grief of that, she’s not stolen a child – so far. But she does rescue cats, whether they want to be rescued or not.
My Review:
This is my third book this year by Tina Baker (my new BFF) and is another superb standalone psychological thriller. Nasty Little Cuts is Tina’s second novel and if you haven’t read any of her books I can highly recommend both Call Me Mummy (see my full review here) and Make Me Clean (see my full review here).
None of Tina’s books are light reading or for the faint hearted. They all pack a powerful punch and leave a very uncomfortable aftertaste when you finish the book, but that is EXACTLY what I want from a psychological thriller.
Nasty Little Cuts is a brutal and raw story centred around the marriage of Debs and Marc. Two total opposites who met, got married, started a family despite their obvious differences. This is a relationship that would never have worked and now it’s heading for a violent and dangerous outcome.
The story flits back and forth constantly, taking the reader through the timelines of both Debs and Marc’s past. We dig deeper into both their pasts, their family relationships, their dysfunctional childhoods and learn what happened to each character to make them behave the way they do as adults.
It’s really uncomfortable and dark, it’s a powerful story of toxic love which gets right under your skin and takes you on a very disturbing journey.
Tina Baker has brought to life two fascinating but flawed characters. The tension grows from page to page and the simmering violence left me emotionally drained. If you enjoy your thrillers so dark you may need a torch, so uncomfortable you may need a cushion and so emotionally draining you will definitely need a sugary cup of tea, then I would definitely recommend Nasty Little Cuts (and her other 2 books as well).
